If you're a vegetarian you need to provide your body with foods that contain the essential amino acids that are used as building blocks of protein in the body. Every time you eat food of any kind your body breaks it down into three basic groups: A) Useful stuff B) Energy C) Waste.
Useful stuff are foods which contain vitamins and the amino acids the body needs in order to create more complex molecules which then form what everyone sees: like hair, skin, eyes, muscle and so on. Energy comes from foods which contain either sugar or fat and depending on your body’s energy needs some of it will be used up immediately while the rest will be stored for later. Waste is everything your body cannot use or process and everyone knows what happens to waste.
Vegetarians and Vegans who train can still source everything they need for the body to build good quality muscle by eating a variety of foods which can be used to source the amino acids necessary to build protein in the body.
The table below provides some of the foods you can use to help your body build protein when you are on a meat-free diet.
| DAIRY | NUTS & SEEDS | VEGETABLES |
| Egg Whites Cottage Cheese Cheddar Cheese Mozzarella Ricotta Cheese (low fat) Parmesan Gouda Cheese Feta Cheese Swiss Cheese Low Fat Yogurt |
Pine Nuts Black Walnuts Pumpkin seeds/Squash seeds Roasted almonds Cashew nuts Hemp seeds Sunflower seeds |
Spinach Broccoli Brussel sprouts Sun-dried tomatoes Asparagus Cauliflower |
| PULSES (LEGUMES) | CEREAL | FUNGI |
| Lentils Peas Blackeyed Peas Kidney beans Beans Soybean |
Oats & Oat bran Whole wheat spaghetti Couscous Bulgur Rye bread Whole wheat pita bread Pita bread Quinoa Buckwheat |
Mushrooms |
Top 10 Meatless Protein Sources
